Feast or Famine:
I often like to point out this chart of all 11 major S&P sectors to show that some groups have tendencies in how they behave. The one that pops off the chart is energy and look how the XLE has been either the best or worst performer going back to 2014 (slight exceptions were 2017 and 2023 which showed they were the 10th best of 11). On a YTD basis so far in 2024, it is lingering near the bottom of the leaderboard up 6.5%, making it the 8th best of 11. If the last decade of history is true to form expect this sector to lag in the second half. There is still plenty of time for a rebound and if it were to occur the chart below of CVX must start to act better. Tuesday it flashed some early strength but was unable to sustain that by the CLOSE finishing UNCH on the session. If one wanted to paint a rosy view the WEEKLY chart has formed a handle on a double bottom base with a trigger of 165.54. Notice the 165 area is a very familiar level of resistance in early 2022, early and late 2023, and again here in Q2. Its MONTHLY chart sports a bull flag but all of these become irrelevant with a break below 152.